Problems and Pretences
by bookgirlrt
Summary: Austin doesn't really exist to Laura. She sees him as a character, almost real but not quite. Ross sees Ally in the same light. That's all about to change. By some freak accident, Ally and Laura swap realities. If they play their cards right, everything could be perfect in the other's life but one false move and it's over. Mostly Auslly and Raura but some Aura and Rally. With Ley03


**Hey! This is a collaboration between Fiona (Ley03) and myself and because it's the first time we've tried this, please be kind in reviews. This is the first chapter of "Problems and Pretences". Just a short head's up, it's all (per chapter) alternately Laura and Ally's POVs except in sections otherwise stated. **

**Bookgirlrt**

**Disclaimer: We do not own 'Austin & Ally'.**

"Okay, Laura, so we're gonna head out to that pizza place down the street, the one we made a reservation for two months ago. Are you joining us or will we see you tomorrow for practicing for the final episode of the season?" Ross asked, giving me a pointed look. I knew what he wanted but it just wasn't happening.

"I would love to come-" Ross grinned. "-but I have to finish up here." His face fell like a stone to the floor.

"Why, Laura? It's just a couple of hours. Then you can go home and continue your songwriting," he said.

I sent him an apologetic smile. "As appealing as that sounds, I have to finish writing this song. You know how you have to work when inspiration hits. I'll see you all tomorrow for practice so go and have fun."

"Are you sure you can't come, Laura?" Calum questioned me. "I don't want you locked in here at some dead hour of the night because you chose to stay here and didn't go home."

"Yes, I'm sure. Now go before Raini acts like Trish and drags you to 'Piero's' by your earlobes," I giggled.

"You know me too well, Laura," Raini smiled and skipped out the door, eagerly followed by the two boys. It was a brilliant restaurant that served amazing food so I don't blame them for going so easily. We booked the table at the start of the season because it was our last opportunity to get together as just the four of us before Ross went on tour. We couldn't do it for the rest of the week because, as we knew well, _some people_ (*cough* Raini and Ross *cough*) don't work well when they're tired. Friday was the cast and crew party and it was going to be massive.

"Text me when you get home," Raini called over her shoulder, "and make sure it's before midnight!"

I rolled my eyes and got down to business.

...

Four hours later and nothing. I didn't have a single word written down on the page. It was hopeless.

That got me thinking. If I couldn't find anything to write about, it meant that I didn't have any inspiration. No inspiration meant that I had to find some ... or make my own. How do I do that?

All of a sudden the lights went out. I knew this happened when it was late but it couldn't possibly be two AM yet. I glanced at my analogue watch. Good one, Laura. I felt around for my phone and realised I'd left it at home.

I stumbled around the room, hoping desperately to reach the light switch. I plummeted to the floor with a gasp highlighted by the instrument's fall.

My attention, however, was drawn to the area of my face just below my left eye where a dull pain had formed. Moist tears travelled down my face, although I didn't remember shedding any. My shaking right hand gently traversed my face and I realised why I hadn't felt tears leave my eyes. They hadn't.

My head, having been slightly raised before, crashed to the floor and that's the last thing I remember from that night.

...

"Morning," Ross whispered to me as my eyes fluttered open. His mahogany eyes relaxed as mine remained open. "You really shouldn't give us such a scare, Ally."

I stretched to sit up before being forcefully shoved back to where I had been lying. I was at that point aware enough of my surrounding to realise that I was no longer on the floor by the drums but rather on the couch on the practice room set. "How did I scare you? I told you I'd see you in the morning, Austin," I replied playfully then froze. "I ... didn't text you that I went home last night, did I?"

"More that I came here this morning and you were slumped on the floor with an open wound on your face," he chuckled. I winced and could instantly feel what he was talking about. He hurried to calm me. "No, it's okay. I cleaned it up for you and it's going to heal well, Als."

"Thanks, Ross. And the joke's over; you can stop calling me 'Ally'."

His brow wrinkled in confusion. "But that's your name," he said slowly. "You're Ally Dawson and I'm Austin Moon. We're best friends and partners; have been for two years, now."

"Ha ha, Ross," I said sarcastically. "Very funny. You've got to stop, though before Shelley* gets here. You know that she isn't a fan of mucking about."

He tilted his head to the side. "Who's Shelley? Is she someone Trish booked you to play for?"

"No, she's director of this week's show."

"What show, Ally? Has Trish signed me up for a stage production?" His eyes conveyed such bewilderment that it finally clicked.

"Oh my gosh," I whispered, pulling myself up but not breaking his gaze. "You really don't know, do you?" I could stare at his puzzled features no longer and glanced away.

That's when it happened.

Looking beyond my immediate area of the couch, I could see that I was in a full room. Not a room without a wall so cameras could film the scene but an entire room.

"What happened to it all?" I whispered, fear beginning to radiate from my entire being. Panic set in. "Where are all the cameras?"

"What cameras, Ally?" the boy asked. "Dez took his camera home yesterday."

The wires, the sound systems, the random chairs. None of it was there. I stared at the corners of the room. A seamless finish.

"You're starting to scare me, Ally."

The door swung wide open and in barged two familiar figures that I immediately ran to.

"Calum! Raini! What's going on here? Why doesn't Ross know about the show? What happened to the wall? _How _is there suddenly a wall here?" I paused my barrage of questions to take a shaky breath. "What happened?"

The short Latino and lanky red-head stared at me with confusion filling their eyes until the boy clicked his fingers. "I get it, Ally! Sorry to disappoint you, sweetie, but the auditions for my next film are next week. You had me going for a second, though."

What? My thoughts jumbled together as I stumbled out of the room. I unconsciously followed the stairs until I realised that the studio didn't have more than four steps out from the practice room and certainly didn't turn the corner. Unfortunately, this realisation came on the second last step, causing me miss the last one and hit the deck once again.

"Ally, are you okay?" asked the Latino, rushing to my side.

"No, I'm not okay," I replied, brushing her off. "Because this can't be happening, Raini."

"Um, I'm Trish, Ally. Your lifelong best friend. Remember?" she said slowly, pulling me to the side.

"No, you're Raini Rodriguez," I said quietly, emotion sweeping through my voice increasingly as each sentence passes my lips. "You love purple, strawberries and spaghetti. You've never gone trick-or-treating because your parents didn't believe it. You love to read and have a whole shelf devoted to the multiple editions you own of your favourite book, _The Princess Bride_. You're bed is filled with stuffed teddies from everywhere you've ever been. You have three brothers, the youngest of which idolises you. What happened to that girl? What happened to Raini?"

"What are you saying, Ally?" the girl cried. "I'm Patricia Maria de la Rosa."

"You aren't."

"What?"

"You can't be."

"Why not?"

The words trailed from my lips as thinly as a waft of smoke from a match. "Because she doesn't exist."

...

Trish didn't speak for a few minutes, looking alternatively between my face and anywhere but.

Finally, she exploded. "What do you mean I don't exist?!"

"Because it's impossible for me to be in a TV show that I star in!"

"Calm down, Ally," she said with calming gestures.

"My name is not Ally!" I screeched and she flinched. I knew I was overreacting about something so minor in the scale of the situation but it sent me over the edge. "My name is Laura Marano."

...

_Trish's POV_

"My name is Laura Marano," Ally said.

I sighed. She'd finally cracked. Ally had been so stressed out this past week with everything that she snapped under the pressure of it all and her brain, in its state of stress, had created an alternate reality for her. I should be at least thankful that she remembered that I was still her best friend, even if she couldn't remember anything about me.

"Okay ... Laura," I replied. The whole situation was stranger than what happened after my interview with Miami Mac, posing as Ally. Suddenly an idea came to me in a stroke of genius. "I believe you but I think that telling everyone that you aren't Ally will freak most people out. I think ... you should pretend to be Ally for the time being. Unless you have a better idea?"

Her eyes filled with conflict. "All the time?"

"Yes, all the time. People would get a bit suspicious if you didn't."

The brunette's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Okay. But for the record, I'm only doing this because I don't see any other way."

"That's my bestie," I laughed and set off to read magazines at work.

Yes, I see those funny looks that you in the audience of my mind are giving me. No, I don't actually believe that she isn't Ally but, if she spends enough time pretending to be herself, surely her long-term memory will kick in and she'll be back to normal. It's just basic psychology. Did I mention that I was working at a psychologist's today?

...

I still find it difficult to believe that she isn't Raini. It's not one of the cast's tricks, that much is certain, though.

I'm glad someone believes I am Laura. She actually took a lot less convincing than I thought she would. I began to climb the stairs to the practice room, a little freaked out by the empty music store.

How did this even happen? I was supposed to be learning my lines for the last episode of the season. For all I know, it might be the last episode of the show ever made.

As I contemplated this, thoughts clobbered my head like shoes were thrown at it. If I was here, wherever 'here' is, what was happening back at the studio? And, more importantly, where was the original Ally?

A single thought left me standing petrified in my tracks.

Was I mad?

_***Note: All characters with an asterisk beside their name are actual people from the cast or crew according to IMBD. For example, Shelley Jensen has been the predominant director for Austin and Ally. All appearances (for crew) and personalities (cast and crew) are constructed purely by the imagination of the authors.**_

_**Also, Raini's character in this chapter is given from the information provided from the Austin and Ally version of Wiki. With some minor adjustments. Okay, some major adjustments but let's not focus on that too much.**_

**Thanks for reading! Please review!**

**Have a lovely day and happy Valentine's Day!**


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